The killing, which took place in June 1988, stemmed from a contentious custody battle between David Churchill Jackson, then 24, of Pembroke Pines, and Wolfe's wife at the time, said prosecutor David Frankel.

"He just wanted to be a part of his son's life," Frankel said of Jackson.

Wolfe lured Jackson to a hotel room and hid in a bathroom. When Jackson reached the room, Wolfe emerged from the bathroom with a gun, shooting Jackson once in the head, Frankel said. When the first blow failed to instantly kill Jackson, Wolfe shot him again and then disposed of the body, Frankel said.

Jackson was immediately reported missing by relatives, but the case lingered for years before authorities realized that the skeleton found in Miramar may have been Jackson.

Months later, Velasquez learned of the skeleton in Miramar and contacted Jackson's mother, Judy Carlson, and told her about the latest DNA technology. If Carlson submitted a DNA sample, Velasquez could have it compared it to a sample collected from the skeleton to determine if the bones belonged to her son, Carlson recalled.

"I would write at night to David and to God," Carlson said. "We knew he had gone to heaven."

By June 2004, authorities and Jackson's family learned the DNA was a match. The bones were that of David Jackson.

That October, authorities charged Wolfe with murder.

Two of Wolfe's ex-wives helped with the case, telling investigators that Wolfe had told them each, in vivid detail, about the night he shot Jackson in the hotel. Investigators could not uncover any evidence on the skeleton that Jackson had been murdered, so they used the information garnered from Wolfe's ex-wives to build the case, Frankel said.

The jury took less than an hour Friday to return the conviction.

Staff writer Tonya Alanez contributed to this report.

Sofia Santana can be reached at svsantana@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4631.